Ultraviolet-illumination-enhanced photoluminescence effect in zinc oxide thin films

We report an enhancement effect of ultraviolet illumination on the photoluminescence intensities of zinc oxide thin films. Large-grain < 0001 >-textured zinc oxide thin films were deposited on amorphous-fused silica substrates using pulsed laser deposition. We found that the intensities of excitonic emission and green-band emission increased with ultraviolet light exposure time until a maximum value was achieved. We attribute this ultraviolet radiation enhancement effect to oxygen desorption on the surface of the zinc oxide thin film. We have proposed a phenomenological model to explain this interesting photoluminescence behavior. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.